


Morning After

by usopping



Series: Take Me Home [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 01:12:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4285011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/usopping/pseuds/usopping
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Usopp wakes up with a fuzzy memory and his childhood friend and long-time crush, Sanji, in his bed. What the hell happened last night?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Morning After

Usopp woke up slowly, the midday light cutting through the shades assaulting his eyes and making them burn and water. There was a crick in his neck, his lower back ached, and he was too damn hot. He shifted slightly and realized there was something lying across his shoulder blades. When he shifted again, he heard a soft groan. He blinked until his vision cleared, and when it did, the sight before him kicked the last of the woozy drunkenness out of his body and turned his blood to ice.

Sleeping peacefully next to him was Sanji.

And Usopp had no idea why.

The last thing he remembered with any amount of clarity was losing a drinking contest to Nami, lying on the couch for a bit, then tottering to the kitchen for ... something. The rest came in bits and pieces, the feeling of slipping on ice and watching the stars spin above him, leaning his weight against something firm, eventually falling into bed and pulling a warm body on top of him.

Pulling a warm body on top of him.

No fucking way.

Burying his face in his pillow to suppress a groan, Usopp wished he could disappear into thin air. If he'd been drunk enough to pull Sanji into bed with him, he hated to think what he'd  _said._ He was only too aware of all the secrets he'd spilled and the surprises he'd ruined by running his mouth after a few too many drinks. The chances that he'd told Sanji everything were too damn high. In vain he tried to comb through his mind and extract more memories of the previous night. He was so busy concentrating on this that he barely noticed Sanji remove his arm from around him and prop himself up on an elbow to rub sleep from his eyes. Until...

"Are you awake, Usopp?"

He turned and flailed with such force that he rolled right off the bed, taking the blanket and half the pillows with him.

"Oww," he groaned, sitting up slowly. It felt like his brain was bouncing around in his skull, spinning wildly, doing flips and the like.

"I'll take that as a yes," Sanji said.

Usopp found himself unable to lift his gaze. He stared at his hands, let his eyes flit around the room, landing at random and registering nothing. He heard rustling from the bed, and then Sanji asked, "Are my pants somewhere down there?"

Blushing furiously, Usopp rummaged around in the blankets until he felt denim. He yanked the black jeans free and tossed them up to Sanji, still unable to look at him. He twisted his fingers together and listened as Sanji dressed. Soon he climbed out of the bed, mumbling, "I need a smoke..." and padded softly out of the room.

Usopp wasn't sure how long he sat there in the empty silence that followed. He kind of felt like puking, and he wasn't sure whether it was from the alcohol or the situation or both. He felt embarrassed, angry at himself, scared, and ashamed. At the same time he felt hollow, as though he'd lost something important that he could never get back. And maybe he had.

Eventually, he stood up and piled the pillows and blanket back onto the bed. He changed into some clean clothes and started downstairs, wondering if Sanji had simply left, but halfway to the stairs he heard the tell-tale sound of a knife against a cutting board. Standing at the top of the staircase and clutching the handrail for dear life, his fear reached a crescendo. Sanji being in the kitchen could mean anything. He could be angry, he could be okay about everything, he could be pretending nothing out of the ordinary even happened, or he could just be hungover and hungry - and a million things besides. It was the persuasive combination of curiosity, a heavy tongue, and a grumbling stomach that pushed Usopp to head down the stairs. His heart pounded deafeningly as he crept into the kitchen and finally forced his gaze off the ground. Sanji turned from the stove and placed a big glass of water, a bowl of sliced fruit, and a couple of painkillers on the counter next to Usopp. Unable to even force the words 'thank you' out of his mouth, Usopp downed the pills, chugged the water, and polished off the fruit in record time. Then he stood there awkwardly, once again twisting his fingers together, the joints going white, as he tried to think of what to say.

As it happened, Sanji beat him to the punch. "How much of last night do you remember?"

"N-Not much," Usopp replied, his mouth suddenly dry again. "I - um - I'm guessing you walked me home?"

Sanji snorted. "More like dragged you home."

There was an odd neutrality in his voice that made Usopp cringe, unsure whether he was angry or joking. Deciding to play it safe, he said, "Oh. Sorry."

"Is it true, what you said?" Sanji asked.

"Wh-What'd I say?" Usopp mumbled, panic spreading through him.

"Nami- _san_ is ... Nami- _san_ was ... she wanted to ... she's interested in Vivi- _chan_... romantically?"

Guilt and, oddly enough, disappointment pooled in Usopp's chest. He'd spilled another secret that wasn't his to tell. His shoulders sagged as the look Nami would give him when she found out - and she would find out - flashed before his eyes.

"Yeah," he heard himself say flatly. "She told me."

"I see."

"Sanji, I really shouldn't have told you that, you know how I get when I drink, I -" He stopped in his tracks when he was hit by the memory of pressing himself against Sanji in Nami's kitchen and asking, "What are you gonna do to me?"

"Remember something?" asked Sanji.

Another line from last night followed the memory immediately: "You're so busy chasing after girls that you don't even notice when someone does like you." Then he remembered and awkward hug, a fall, and Sanji asking if he expected him to undress him. His own voice responded, "I wouldn't mind."

He let out a low groan. "It's all coming back to me." The disappointment in his chest swelled. He'd said all that, but Sanji only cared about Nami. It figured. Sanji had been infatuated with her since he first laid eyes on her. Finding out she was interested in Vivi must have been shocking, to say the least.  _Even more shocking than having your childhood best friend hit on you, apparently._

Then it came to him.

"You said we'd have to have a serious talk in the morning," Usopp said in a half-mumble.

With a sigh, Sanji waved towards the worn, round wooden table with his spatula and said, "Sit. We'll talk over breakfast."

Usopp did as he was told. Sanji refilled his glass and placed it in front of him before returning to the stove. The silence that fell was far from comfortable, but Usopp found a small amount of solace in the fact that Sanji was taking care of him the way he always took care of whoever had a hangover. The feeling didn't last, though, when he thought of the fact that Sanji even did it for Zoro, and those two couldn't go ten minutes without being at each other's throats. Part of him just wanted Sanji to sit down and say whatever it was he was going to say and get it over with, but part of him felt he could wait til kingdom come. And all too soon but not soon enough, Sanji was making his way over, setting a veggie omelette in front of Usopp, grabbing forks and knives for them, and sitting down. For once, his nerves had done nothing to quell his hunger, and the moment the utensils were in his hands, he dug in. He had scarfed down half of the omelette before realizing that Sanji was idly moving his own food around his plate, a contemplative look on his face.

Slowly, Usopp set down his fork and said, "Sanji, I ... I said a-and did ... a lot of stupid stuff last night, and I understand if -"

"I just want to clarify," the blond interrupted. "You, uh ... I mean, all that stuff you said, you kind of implied ... that ... you like me?"

"Yeah," Usopp said quietly, feeling as though he'd just hammered the figurative nail into his coffin. He _had_ lost something important, he was sure of it now. He'd lost Sanji, he'd lost the near-lifelong friendship that had fostered his crush. Sullenly, he began, "If you want me to, like, stay away from you or something..."

"Usopp, look at me."

His heart leapt into his throat, but he looked up. To his surprise, Sanji looked concerned.

"We've been friends practically forever. Why the hell would I ditch you just because of this? If anything, I'm flattered, it's just, I mean, I don't wanna hurt you, but I don't feel the same way."

Usopp laughed, and it only sounded a little forced. "I know that. You don't have to worry about me."

Sanji didn't look convinced, but he said, "Okay..." and started to eat.

Although he was still uneasy, Usopp did the same, eating the rest of his omelette much more slowly than before. When they had finished, Sanji insisted on helping clean up, and with the two of them working together, it took almost no time at all. Then there was nothing to do but for Sanji to go home. Usopp saw him to the door, where the blond paused, that concerned expression on his face once again.

"Nothing's changed, you know," he said.

"Y-Yeah, I know," Usopp said.

Then Sanji did something he'd never done before. He leaned in and gave Usopp a short, awkward hug before heading out the door, already digging in his pocket for a cigarette. Stunned, Usopp stood frozen in place for several moments. And when at last he closed the door and started back towards his bedroom, he knew that  _everything_ had changed.


End file.
